Shloka 7
Śrāddha-Kalpa: Pitṛ-Pūjā and Tithi-Phala (श्राद्धकल्पः पितृपूजा च तिथिफलम्)
कि सुवर्ण कथं जात॑ कस्मिन् काले किमात्मकम् | कि दैवं कि फलं चैव कस्माच्च परमुच्यते
ki suvarṇaṁ kathaṁ jātaṁ kasmin kāle kim-ātmakam | ki daivaṁ ki phalaṁ caiva kasmāc ca param ucyate ||
Tinanong ni Yudhiṣṭhira: “Ano ang ginto, at paano ito nagkaroon ng pag-iral? Sa anong panahon ito nagmula, at ano ang tunay nitong kalikasan? Aling diyos ang namamahala rito, at ano ang bunga ng pag-aalay o pagbibigay nito? At bakit sinasabi na ang ginto ang pinakamataas (sa mga handog at yaman)?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma-inquiry into dāna: it treats gold not merely as wealth but as a sacred substance whose origin, presiding deity, and karmic ‘fruit’ determine its ethical use. The implied teaching is that gifts should be understood in terms of their nature and spiritual consequences, not only their market value.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on gifts and righteous conduct, Yudhiṣṭhira asks a set of systematic questions about suvarṇa—its origin, essence, divine association, the merit gained by donating it, and why it is praised as the foremost—prompting the ensuing discourse on the sanctity and efficacy of gold-giving.